Methane Abatement in Sustainable Taxonomies

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative and Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes the integration of methane abatement within five sustainable finance taxonomies (Colombia, EU, Indonesia, South Africa, and Thailand). It identifies systemic gaps in sectoral coverage, technical rigor, and criteria specificity, and provides a best-practice framework to mobilize investment toward high-impact methane reduction.

• Methane abatement finance is significantly underfunded, with annual investments dropping from less than USD 14 billion in 2021/22 to approximately USD 6 billion in 2023, far below the estimated USD 48 billion required annually through 2030.
• The reviewed taxonomies exhibit incomplete sectoral and activity coverage. While energy is present in all five, solid waste and wastewater are missing from Indonesia's taxonomy, and agriculture is omitted from the EU taxonomy.
• There is a systemic tendency to prioritize usability over technical accuracy, leading to the over-simplification of technical screening criteria (TSC). For example, Thailand's taxonomy replaces the EU's detailed monitoring procedures for landfills with generic requirements for 'monitoring' or 'contingency' plans.
• Methane-related criteria often lack specificity, particularly in agriculture and waste. Many taxonomies list sustainable practices (e.g., pasture management or biodigesters) without providing quantitative metrics such as emission thresholds or leakage rates.
• In the energy sector, the EU and Indonesia are the only taxonomies to include explicit methane abatement provisions for energy generation from fossil gaseous fuels, requiring leak detection and repair (LDAR) or monitoring systems.
• Agricultural methane abatement is poorly defined in most taxonomies. While Colombia and Thailand list eligible practices, they often lack the detail to verify methane reduction. In contrast, New Zealand's draft taxonomy is noted for higher ambition, requiring a 10% methane reduction in treated animals.
• The wastewater and solid waste sectors show more consistent inclusion of methane safeguards, such as leakage monitoring and biogas valorization, across the EU, Colombia, South Africa, and Thailand, though quantitative performance benchmarks remain largely absent.
• Singapore's taxonomy is highlighted as a technically advanced example in the waste sector, requiring real-time methane monitoring at vent stacks and setting a methane recovery system collection efficiency target of at least 75%.
• The report proposes a best-practice framework for taxonomy developers, including specific lifecycle GHG emission thresholds for bioenergy (e.g., 36.6 gCO2e/MJ for electricity generation) and mandatory LDAR protocols.

APA

Wetmańska, Z., Fernandes, P. D. A., Miao, G., Shankar, V., & Alanah, I. (2025). Methane Abatement in Sustainable Taxonomies. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Methane-Abatement-in-Sustainable-Taxonomies.pdf

Chicago

Wetmańska, Zofia, Pedro de Aragão Fernandes, Gaoyi Miao, Varun Shankar, and Ines Alanah. Methane Abatement in Sustainable Taxonomies. Climate Policy Initiative, 2025. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Methane-Abatement-in-Sustainable-Taxonomies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wetmańska |first1=Zofia |last2=Fernandes |first2=Pedro de Aragão |last3=Miao |first3=Gaoyi |last4=Shankar |first4=Varun |last5=Alanah |first5=Ines |title=Methane Abatement in Sustainable Taxonomies |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=December 2025 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Methane-Abatement-in-Sustainable-Taxonomies.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wetmaska2025methane, author = {Wetmańska, Zofia and Fernandes, Pedro de Aragão and Miao, Gaoyi and Shankar, Varun and Alanah, Ines}, title = {{Methane Abatement in Sustainable Taxonomies}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Methane-Abatement-in-Sustainable-Taxonomies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }